California Pizza Kitchen — Restaurant in Honolulu

California Pizza Kitchen - Honolulu, Hawaii: A Surprising Disappointment

As frequent travelers, California Pizza Kitchen has always been a reliable go-to for us, especially since my wife is gluten-sensitive. Their gluten-free pizza options and fresh, creative salads have consistently made CPK a staple in our dining routine. However, our recent visit to the Honolulu location was the first time we left feeling less than satisfied.

We were initially excited, as this stop at CPK has always been a highlight when traveling. The ambiance was as welcoming as ever, with the familiar open-kitchen vibe and friendly staff. We started with a salad, which was fresh and flavorful, just as we remembered. Unfortunately, the main event—the gluten-free pizza—didn’t live up to our expectations this time around.

The gluten-free crust, usually a reliable choice, was lackluster, bordering on soggy rather than the crisp, light texture we've come to expect. The toppings, which are typically vibrant and full of flavor, seemed unevenly distributed and lacked the usual freshness. The overall experience with the pizza left us disappointed, especially given how consistent CPK has been for us in the past.

To make matters worse, our order of Buffalo Cauliflower came out with only two small pieces of cauliflower on the plate. We immediately let our server know, and while she quickly apologized and took the dish back to the kitchen to be fixed, it was concerning that such an obvious mistake wasn’t caught before it reached our table. The dish was corrected, but it left us questioning the attention to detail in the kitchen.

The manager did come by to address the issue, but his explanation was less than satisfying. He mentioned that they portion everything by weight, but when I asked how two tiny pieces could possibly meet their portion standards, he was unable to provide a clear answer. It felt more like an excuse than a genuine attempt to rectify the situation.

It's worth noting that the service remained attentive, and the salad was still a hit, which helped salvage the experience somewhat. However, given how important the gluten-free pizza is for us, this visit fell short of the standard that CPK has set in our minds.

We hope this was just an off night for the kitchen, as we've always held CPK in high regard. We’ll likely give it another chance on future trips, but this visit left us wishing for the consistency and quality we’ve come to associate with California...

I've been eating at this location before Google Reviews was even born!

ATMOSPHERE: Noisy, busy and full of energy. That's why I love this location the best. Great views of the Pacific, skyline and people-watching. It's amazing how the atmosphere makes the food even better.

FOOD: Caesar Salad The dressing is a bit tangy but I still love it. The shaved parmesan is a nice touch.

Spinach Artichoke Dip Very tasty app. The dip is served warm and had great flavor.

Lettuce Wraps The best I've tasted so far. The pork mixture was flavorful and seasoned perfectly.

Jambalaya Linguine Fini My FAVE pasta dish here! Spicy (2 on a 5 heat scale) mixture of chicken, shrimp, crawfish, andouille, ham and garlic over fettuccine. Very bold flavors and all the seafood tasted fresh. Way better than the Cheesecake Factory's version.

Garlic Cream Fettuccine Get it with everything on top (chicken, mushrooms & shrimp!) Super heavy dish so beware.

Chicken Tequila Fettuccine Yuck! This was not for me. I don't like tangy sauces, especially over pasta. Damn you FB friend and CPK server for recommending this! Just kidding, but not really, lol.

5 Cheese & Tomato Pizza Very good meatless pizza. This is all I ate before I became a pasta fanatic.

The Works Pizza This hand-tossed version is loaded with mushrooms, Italian sausage, pepperoni, onions, olives and green peppers that we nixed (not my decision). Loved it! The crust was soft and chewy.

Dakota Smashed Pea + Barley I've loved peas ever since I can remember so I knew I'd enjoy this dish. The soup was semi-thick, green as can be, though not salty or hot enough to my liking. I added salt which helped though didn't send it back for its temperature as I don't like doing that in restaurants. I always report what my true experience was.

DESSERT: Red Velvet Cake Super moist and not overly sweet. Haven't found a better one y

Butter Cake After seeing mouth-watering pics and reading stellar reviews, it ended up being way to sweet for me. Yes it was buttery but overly sugary which killed it.

Strawberry Shortcake This seasonal dessert used parched cookies instead of actual cake, a huge disappointment to me. I did however enjoy the fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream that it came with. I've come to the conclusion that CPK isn't a place for dessert.

SERVICE: Always friendly & professional. This location is super busy so be prepared to wait at peak times. They're even busy at 3pm!?

OVERALL: I really wish they'd...

Went Here about 3 weeks ago, placed an online order for pick up at 11 am. Get there at 11 and ask for our food. The young girl at take out counter snaps that they just open and how would the food be ready and to give 15 minutes. We said okay and walked away. About 10 mins later I asked hostess about preheating instructions (she was actually pleasant and nice) when she said she didn't know and went to ask the chef he started yelling (where we can Here him at the front) as she approached that they need to just wait and the food isn't ready and she was like they are only asking what to preheat the oven at which he then yells they can find out later it's on the box. It will be on the box. Quick update we asked that because these pizzas were for a luncheon at work and because it was delayed we just wanted coworkers to prep as much as possible before we got back. The chef never said the temp he just continued to yell and point at the box that he had in his hand that it's on here. The hostess then walked behind somewhere else and eventually came back and told us the temp (only pleasant person this whole visit). It's now 11 30, about 30 mins since arrival and we see what looks like our order, the worker placed them all in order and put on counter looked at us and then just went on her way with no words. Finally after 5 minutes we walked up and asked if that's our order that's sitting there and she said oh yes it is. I was still working on it and then hands the order and says its ready. I didnt say this but thought it "If you are still working on it how can just hand it to me saying it's ready without adding anything, so you were literally just going to let our order sit here knowing we were waiting in the front over 30 minutes past out pick up time....". Also reason this posts is 3 weeks later is that this order was online and so we got customer review form emailed which we did fill out. A manager called us back and apologized and said that he was shocked and disappointed to read the review and promised compensation to make up for our miserable time. The compensation was...